Blue Rose Bloom
by HobbitofRavenclaw
Summary: Helen has some strange new flowers in her sanctuary she's trying to study. If only Nikola wasn't such a thorn in her side.


_Hobbits notes. A Gift for Koala. Hopefully you get it little brother. Everyone else just enjoy the Teslen fun. Be forwarned this was written under the influence of peppermint oil and the soundtrack to RENT _

_Slainte,_  
_Hobbit_

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The vampire stalked his prey in the light of the full moon. She was bending over the flower bed, humming softly to herself and pruning where the new roses needed it. He was silent, quick and unexpected. With a lightning fast rush he jumped out and wrapped his arms around his victim, holding her immobile as he feasted upon her neck.

"Nikola!" Helen screamed, trying to push him off.

"Can't talk, busy" He purred between kisses. "you just looked so lovely out here in the moonlight I couldn't waste it." He smiled against her neck and continued kissing.

Helen rolled her eyes and tried to push him off, halfheartedly though as she was rather enjoying it.

"Nikola, we discussed boundaries. You agreed to follow the rules if I let you hide from S.C.I.U. here."

Nikola released her and pouted. "I am not hiding Helen. I am recuperating from the unfair treatment they gave me. I was insulted belittled and-"

"Fired for stealing." Helen finished, turning to face him. "I am pleased to have you here in my new sanctuary. but you have to follow the rules."

"You're really one to talk about rules Helen! You have defied every convention thrown at you. Rules were made to be broken."

"Not my rules. Especially when I'm tending to the _Lazuli Rosa Laevigatae_ ."

"Blue roses?" Nikola reached out for one of the dark flowers, but Helen slapped his hand away.

"Careful Nikola. The thorns have a natural poison that would kill even you. It also inhibits the roses from blooming." Helen frowned at the puckered petals.

"That's no way to live. Too shrouded and cut off with your own defenses" Nikola caressed Helen's hand softly. She pulled away automatically. "So afraid of the world and being hurt that you don't let anyone in."

"We aren't talking about the flowers anymore are we Nikola?" Helen asked suspiciously.

"So closed off from your own feelings, distrusting yourself and everyone around you so you don't see when someone is standing right in front of you... willing to give you their heart."

Helen ignored him and went back to the roses. "I seem to be having trouble pulling off the thorns without harming the flower itself. The stem needs to be intact or the rose will die. I cant examine it properly until I can open the blossom."

"Is there any other way?" Nikola asked, examining the flowers carefully. Helen gave a rueful smile.

"There is a legend that says they will blossom in the presence of true love." she sighed and looked the blooms over. But that is just a story. I don't know what else to try. Helen gave a dejected little sigh and turned away.

"Helen" Nikola murmured, unable to take the pained look in her eyes. He reached for her shoulder but she shook him off with the practiced ease of 140 (253?) years.

"When you're ready for me, _moje srce_ "

Helen hesitated, but when she turned the vampire was gone. With one last dejected sigh, Helen pulled her sweater close and stepped back inside.

Nikola let her go with a defeated air and walked off. If there was someway to make her smile... Nikola turned and took one last look at the blue roses and smirked.

"Genius... As usual" He congratulated himself and strolled back to the lab he (reluctantly) shared with Henry.

Nikola was grateful to find the lab HAP-free upon his return and cheerfully began ripping his latest project to shreds, whistling merrily. He worked steadily for an hour before he had any interruptions

"Dude!" Henry stopped at the door in shock. Nikola ignored him and continued puling apart the machine he had been working on for the past three months. "Dude what are you doing?"

"Back off, Snoopy." Nikola growled as Henry tried to pry the components from the deranged inventors hands. "This is important."

Henry ignored him and kept tugging. "Have you lost your mind? It took us Weeks to get this thing working and you said yourself you wanted it done within the next few days."

"Yes well things change this is much more important." Nikola insisted. "Now back off or I will single-handedly fry all your hard drives. Magnetism has it's advantages."

"You wouldn't!" Henry paled as Nikola held his hand over the main frame.

"Try me!" Nikola smirked as several paper clips jumped onto his out stretched hand. Henry turned tail and positively ran from the room. Chuckling to himself, Nikola went back to work.

His next interruption was in a form he would have normally welcomed with open arms, had said interruption not looked so utterly enraged.

"Helen." Nikola swallowed nervously as his old friend advanced menacingly.

"Nikola" She replied in a dead calm voice that always made him more nervous than when she yelled, or shot at him. "What is this wild story Henry told me about you threatening my mainframe with a strong wave of magnetism?"

"That isn't a wild story Helen. James and John fingering ME as Jack the ripper was a wild story." Nikola replied with s small bite to his voice. "Edison s endless self righteous prattle about inventing light bulbs by himself was a wild story. But Heinrich was telling you the truth. He was in my way and i am very busy here Helen. I need my space. "

Helen sighed and rubber her temples. "Honestly Nikola! We just talked about breaking my rules. You are not to go scaring my team or threatening them and the equipment." She walked up and watched him methodically rip another panel from the invention he was so careful with. With a rapid flick of her wrist, Helen pulled out a pair of titanium handcuffs and snapped them on the Serbian vampire. A look of mild surprise flashed through his eyes before the vampire composed himself.

"Well Helen. We all have our fancies. I didn't think you would be into bondage." He leered. "But don't you think this would be more fun in the bedroom? Unless you like it dirty." He smiled and used his magnetism to pull a metal table closer. Helen raised an eyebrow.

"Did you try to sweet talk Worth like this when he cuffed you too?" Helen asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well no but he didn't have your-" Nikola smiled and roved his eyes up and down Helen s body meaningfully and grinned wider. "Smile. Helen. You have a truly lovely smile. It makes your eyes sparkle and adds just the right flush of pink to your cheeks."

"Dear lord don't even start." Helen said, secretly adoring the arrogant smirk that adorned her vampires face. "I have work to get done. I ll come look in on you later. If you agree to behave... I might let you go."

"Behave." Nikola repeated with a soft laugh. "Very amusing Helen. Now let me go-Helen... Helen?" Nikola called as she turned her back firmly and walked away with that flirty sway she seemed to enjoy torturing him with.

"Helen, you forgot to uncuff me. Jokes over Helen." Nikola called frantically as she rounded the corner and disappeared Nikola sighed and looked around himself. "Up to me againe. They always leave me with the heavy lifting." He sighed dramatically and began to look for some way out of the cuffs.

He was still in the same predicament half an hour later when Henry walked in. Nikola nearly pounced on the younger man. "Heinrich thank God. I seem to need I mean that is to say... Helen has quite a sense of humor and she well that is to say-"

"The doc cuffed your hands behind your back and you want my help getting you out." Henry supplied.

"Pretty much." Nikola nodded. "Please? I promise I won't wipe out the mainframes. And I- I won't insult you anymore Wolfgang... at least not while you're helping me... "

Henry took pity and nodded his head. "Alright then, hold still." Henry sighed and tried a few times to pry them off but with no success. "Wow the Doc means business"

"Vampire remember." Nikola rolled his eyes as Henry scurried out again. "Thanks for nothing!" Nikola called after him.

Helen hummed softly to herself as evening fell. The cuffs were no doubt keeping Nikola in line for now at least. And though she would eventually have to uncuff him, she was enjoying the peace of not having him underfoot. And in the end he would shrug it off as another puzzle and thank her. Helen picked up her pruning shears and gloves then headed out to the garden still humming happily.

"Helen! You're just in time." the cuff free Nikola smiled up from the blue roses. He lifted a small wineglass as though toasting her. "The restraints were quite a challenge. But I suppose I should thank you for that. Mm. He smirked and took a sip of his wine, holding up one finger, indicating he had a point and she shouldn t yell just yet. "that is some lovely wine too Helen you have wonderful taste." He smiled and attached a pair of wires to the panels Helen only just noticed from the machine Nikola had taken apart.

"Nikola? What have you done now?" Helen laughed as the inventors eyes sparkled in anticipation.

"I erected a small EM blaster. With just the smallest pulse of Electromagnetic ions I'll be able to send a super sonic pulse through your beautiful but stubborn blue flowers. Worry not for your perfect ears, my love. I would never put you intentionally in danger." he smirked and kissed Helen s hand. She grinned and stole his wine, taking a small sip and looked at the contraption.

"So you want to send a high pitched electromagnetic sound wave through the roses? What will that do?"

"I'm so glad you asked." Nikola smiled and waved grandly at the flowers. "When I hit the right frequency, the thorns will wither and fall off without damaging the stems. Then you can watch your lovely roses bloom and study them to your hearts content. All I ask of you in return is a smile." He winked.

"If it works, Nikola I will give you a kiss and my best bottle of Chablis." Helen laughed at her friends arrogant enthusiasm. He grinned even wider and stepped up the his newest invention with great aplomb.

Helen held her breath as a light tremor shook the garden and she clapped as the thorns fell free of the roses. "Nikola that was wonderful." Helen enthused and began to carefully pull at the petals. Their joy was short lived however as the rose bud refused to be coaxed to efflorescence.

"Helen..." Nikola tentatively put his hand on her shoulder, fully expecting her to shake him off again. "I am so sorry Helen. I- I really wanted this to work. and not just for the kiss. I wanted to make you smile. You're a thousand times more beautiful when you smile. And you are already the most beautiful creature to ever walk this earth."

"Sometimes when you cut yourself off from the world, so afraid of being hurt that you don't let anyone in you don't notice the moment you are free from those walls anymore. and it takes a little while to let people in. People who deserve better from you. People who only want whats best for you." Helen smiled and turned to face Nikola, tucking the blue puckered rose into his button hole.

"We aren't talking about the flowers anymore are we Helen?" Nikola asked suspiciously. She smiled and looked down before meeting his gaze.

"No we aren't. Thank you Nikola. You were always there when I needed you. And you weren't there when I needed space. you understood that I was my own woman and never smothered me. You accepted my independence and never pushed me. Even though I've been in love with you for 100 years now... " Helen smiled at the flabbergasted joy on the Vampires face. "I was too afraid and guarded to tell you." She smiled and closed the distance between them and gave him a small kiss. "You know, technically your invention was a success."

Nikola grinned and pulled Helen into his arms, dipping her down. He smiled arrogantly and placed a soft kiss to her lips. Helen held tight to his shoulders, only letting him pull away when the blood rushing to her head and the lack of oxygen made her head spin. Nikola set her carefully back on her feet and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I guess i got a little over enthusiastic."

"A little. " Helen conceded. "But I do admire your enthusiasm." she smiled and pulled him down for another long sweet kiss.

In the moonlight on the garden terrace in the warm spring air, the kissing couple didn't once notice every one of the blue flowers was in full bloom.

**The End**

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Hobbits End notes _moje srce_ is Serbian meaning my heart.


End file.
